Tired and Sore

So today was the Hyannis Half Marathon (and 10k/marathon). The day got off to a fairly poor start when a bunch of MIT kids decided to have a party last night in our apartment building. The party itself was no problem, however, the frequent drunken cigarette breaks that the kids took on the street about 8 feet from my window made it hard to sleep. I finally fell asleep at 2:30, and woke up at 6:30 the next morning. I'll let you do the math on hour many hours of sleep that is.

Anyway, Hog's dad came and picked us this morning and we made our way down to Hyannis. It was wicked cold and windy out. I debated whether to wear shorts, and decided to wear tights. I think I could have gotten away wearing shorts, but I definitely didn't overheat during the race (it was about 25 and windy).

Hog and I settled behind the leaders, and went through the mile in 5:32. I was really relaxed aerobically, but my shins were starting to get tight, which I think was a result of wearing my Nike Streak XC flats. These shoes are great for shorter races, but are a little too minimal for longer races. Thankfully my shins loosened up as the race went on and I felt ok after about 5 miles. At about 4 miles, Nate and I caught up to the leaders and settled in with this. Nate made a move shortly thereafter, and the lead pack broke up. Nate extended his lead, and I started to lead the chase pack. We continued to run about 5:30s until about 10 miles when I decided to try to pull away from the guy who was on my tail. I split 5:14 and 5:18 for the next 2 miles, and was comfortably (relatively speaking) in second place. I was hurting pretty badly during the 12/13 miles, as they were slightly uphill and the wind was in my face. I finished up in second place in 1:12:34. (I'd like to just say that the last 2 miles of the race SUCKED. I really didn't want to keep running as hard as I was...). As a result of my effort, I was rewarded with a really tired body and really sore shins/calves. The race gave me a hint of what I'll feel like after the marathon..... not too pleasant

I was really happy with the race for several reasons. The time was very good, especially considering the conditions. It was cold enough to have to wear tights, longsleeves, gloves and a hat. It was also pretty windy out, which can really sap your energy. I was psyched to place second in a race with 1,200 people in it. Running 1:12 for a half-marathon also lets me know that I'm in good long-distance shape. This bodes well for April 17th.

I think that's it for now.... Hope Grey's is good tonight.